The Elder Scrolls: It's the IX Divines, you milk-drinkers

[Feytalist]

Yeah. Sometimes dragon animation just bugs out. I've once seen Paarthunax lift off by rotating horizontally, wings outstretched, like a helicopter. It was awesome.

[DigoDragon]

Yeah. Sometimes dragon animation just bugs out. I've once seen Paarthunax lift off by rotating horizontally, wings outstretched, like a helicopter. It was awesome.

"Welp, time to return to the mothership!"

I remember one dragon fight (I think at Riverwood) where the dragon landed on a house and then slid off, falling on top of me and causing all sorts of clipping issues. It resulted in my horse getting launched across the river, dead.

[LibraryOgre]

"Welp, time to return to the mothership!"

I remember one dragon fight (I think at Riverwood) where the dragon landed on a house and then slid off, falling on top of me and causing all sorts of clipping issues. It resulted in my horse getting launched across the river, dead.

Which is why I love Arvak. Seriously, Dawnguard was worth it just for Arvak, and I played through it just for Arvak.

[Anxe]

"Welp, time to return to the mothership!"

I remember one dragon fight (I think at Riverwood) where the dragon landed on a house and then slid off, falling on top of me and causing all sorts of CLIPPING issues. It resulted in my HORSE getting launched across the river, dead.

HA! Clipping issues...

[Duck999]

I hate when dragon bodies get somewhere very bothersome. However, the waberjack is an easy solution. Just waberjack it across miles of land.

[Vaz]

I tend to get Dragon skeleton breakdancers quite often. First time was hilarious. Seeing it 20 or so times since... not so much.

[Winter_Wolf]

I was at that ruined castle on the hill to the northeast of Whiterun, and when the dragon died it got wedged head first into the stairwell of the ruined tower. So, dead dragon butt sticking up in the air and jiggling like crazy because it didn't have space to settle into a proper death pose.

Yes, a dead twerking dragon.

[Feytalist]

I tend to get Dragon skeleton breakdancers quite often. First time was hilarious. Seeing it 20 or so times since... not so much.

For me, it's Dwarven Spiders. It's pretty spooky when I'm trying to sneak through some ruins, and there's this dead spider *CLANG*-ing its way across the floor.

[DigoDragon]

Which is why I love Arvak. Seriously, Dawnguard was worth it just for Arvak, and I played through it just for Arvak.

Cause... clipping? I guess I should eventually go play that DLC. I've only owned it for, what? A year now? XD
Though the updated Hermaeus Mora form is epic creepy.

HA! Clipping issues...

Yes, a dead twerking dragon.

The horror. o.o

[Feytalist]

Cause... clipping? I guess I should eventually go play that DLC. I've only owned it for, what? A year now? XD
Though the updated Hermaeus Mora form is epic creepy.

Arvak can't die. Or... well. You can just summon him again. So you don't have to worry about your horses being killed by random monsters anymore. Even Shadowmere can be lost (or killed via massive damage, if I remember correctly).

I hate Shadowmere, actually. Damn horse always gets in the way of my open-air battles. And never goes away, ever. When you fast travel on foot, he's like; Hi! Don't forget me! Here I am! Stupid horse.

[LibraryOgre]

Arvak: Effectively indestructible, always on-call. Need help getting your loot away from a dungeon? Summon Arvak, and you can suddenly fast-travel anywhere. It's FANTASTIC.

[Mobius Twist]

I hate Shadowmere, actually. Damn horse always gets in the way of my open-air battles. And never goes away, ever. When you fast travel on foot, he's like; Hi! Don't forget me! Here I am! Stupid horse.

Doesn't he work like other horses? That is, doesn't a given horse only follow you around the world if it was the last horse you rode? I've actually lost track of Shadowmere because I happened to steal another horse for a quick getaway and he got all huffy and went "fine, I guess I won't come to your Dragonbirthday party now".

[DigoDragon]

Arvak can't die. Or... well. You can just summon him again.

Arvak: Effectively indestructible, always on-call.

Ah, infinite horse. Gotcha. Yeah that would be really useful when Deadly Dragons throws an epic at me.

When you fast travel on foot, he's like; Hi! Don't forget me! Here I am!

Doesn't he work like other horses? That is, doesn't a given horse only follow you around the world if it was the last horse you rode?

I think that's usually how it works, at least when I fast travel between towns that is what happens. Not so fun when I fast travel into the middle of a vampire raid and they go after my horse. Though that might be less the vampire sucking my horse's blood and more my follower throwing a fireball into the crowd.

[Calemyr]

Arvak: Effectively indestructible, always on-call. Need help getting your loot away from a dungeon? Summon Arvak, and you can suddenly fast-travel anywhere. It's FANTASTIC.

His former master was correct, Arvaak is such a good horse. And he's set up in the same way Durnehveir is: by summoning them, you are doing them a favor. Arvaak is thrilled to be out in the living world again when you summon him, and Durne literally begs you to give him just a few minutes once in a while in those vast blue skies. It's amazing how that little detail can color the experience.

I know I've asked this question before, but I still don't feel I've gotten a good answer: Are there any good male followers out there, modded or vanilla? To my experience, the interesting ones are all female, and all the potentially interesting male followers are bugged, mercs, or incomplete. The reason I ask is that, once again, I'm trying to start up a game of Skyrim and, once again, I feel awkward because all the allies I accrue (using Amazing Follower Tweaks and My Home Is Your Home to construct a guild of my own) are female. Like I should be naming my Dragonborn Charlie. I need some guys to balance out the ranks a little. So, are there any interesting male followers out there?

[Feytalist]

Doesn't he work like other horses? That is, doesn't a given horse only follow you around the world if it was the last horse you rode? I've actually lost track of Shadowmere because I happened to steal another horse for a quick getaway and he got all huffy and went "fine, I guess I won't come to your Dragonbirthday party now".

When your other horse dies or gets lost, he does have a tendency to come back, though. It's happened to me, anyway. That horse is persistent.

[LibraryOgre]

I know I've asked this question before, but I still don't feel I've gotten a good answer: Are there any good male followers out there, modded or vanilla? To my experience, the interesting ones are all female, and all the potentially interesting male followers are bugged, mercs, or incomplete. The reason I ask is that, once again, I'm trying to start up a game of Skyrim and, once again, I feel awkward because all the allies I accrue (using Amazing Follower Tweaks and My Home Is Your Home to construct a guild of my own) are female. Like I should be naming my Dragonborn Charlie. I need some guys to balance out the ranks a little. So, are there any interesting male followers out there?

The best ones I can think of, off the top of my head, are that kid from Rorikstead who wants to be a hero, the mage trainee in Riften, and the Dark Elf from the Vaermina quest. None are really FANTASTIC, but they're pretty solid.

[Mobius Twist]

I know I've asked this question before, but I still don't feel I've gotten a good answer: Are there any good male followers out there, modded or vanilla? To my experience, the interesting ones are all female, and all the potentially interesting male followers are bugged, mercs, or incomplete. The reason I ask is that, once again, I'm trying to start up a game of Skyrim and, once again, I feel awkward because all the allies I accrue (using Amazing Follower Tweaks and My Home Is Your Home to construct a guild of my own) are female. Like I should be naming my Dragonborn Charlie. I need some guys to balance out the ranks a little. So, are there any interesting male followers out there?

I suppose we'd need to know what makes a person interesting for you.

Marcurio (Riften merc) is said to be both interesting because of his interest in Dwemer lore and pretty-boy looks.
I'm a fan of Valdimar and Belrand because they favor a sword-and-spell approach to combat, though they're not much for conversation.
Kharjo and Derkeethus are both interesting by virtue of being solid representatives of their races (Let's be honest, J'zargo is a bit overplayed.)

[Calemyr]

The best ones I can think of, off the top of my head, are that kid from Rorikstead who wants to be a hero, the mage trainee in Riften, and the Dark Elf from the Vaermina quest. None are really FANTASTIC, but they're pretty solid.

Heh. It's true that Erandur and Erik the Slayer are pretty interesting, though Erik's hireling status means he doesn't work well as a member of the Guild. Same for Marcurio (the mage in Riften).

Come to think of it, it might be fun to recruit Aranea and Erandur, two badass priests representing the Daedra and the Aedra respectively.

I suppose we'd need to know what makes a person interesting for you.

Marcurio (Riften merc) is said to be both interesting because of his interest in Dwemer lore and pretty-boy looks.
I'm a fan of Valdimar and Belrand because they favor a sword-and-spell approach to combat, though they're not much for conversation.
Kharjo and Derkeethus are both interesting by virtue of being solid representatives of their races (Let's be honest, J'zargo is a bit overplayed.)

You raise a solid point.

By interesting, I mean:
* Develops some sort of actual ties to the Dragonborn.
* Displays some level of distinct personality rather than generic battle cries and such.
* Has a reason to leave home and join the Dragonborn (unlike Faendal, who just got a girlfriend thanks to you, and thus a reason to stay home).
* Isn't a hireling. I want to be able to use allies for one mission or another without having to pay them each time.
* Bonus points if they have opinions to voice on things, like Mjoll, Serana, Erandur, or Erik.
* I just want don't want it to be "The Dragonborn and his Army of Generic Brutes", if you follow me.

I'm thinking that this time I'm going to be building my guild around the Helgen Reborn mod. So anybody who joins me will be moving to Helgen once the rebuilding gets started.

[veti]

By interesting, I mean:
* Develops some sort of actual ties to the Dragonborn.
* Displays some level of distinct personality rather than generic battle cries and such.
* Has a reason to leave home and join the Dragonborn (unlike Faendal, who just got a girlfriend thanks to you, and thus a reason to stay home).
* Isn't a hireling. I want to be able to use allies for one mission or another without having to pay them each time.
* Bonus points if they have opinions to voice on things, like Mjoll, Serana, Erandur, or Erik.
* I just want don't want it to be "The Dragonborn and his Army of Generic Brutes", if you follow me.

How about:
Farkas (I like Farkas) & Vilkas
Golldir (that guy who sent his aunt in to sort out a necromancer in his ancestral tomb...)
Onmund (college)
Talvas Fathryon (Dragonborn)

I don't know of any particularly interesting dialogue they have, but they seem to meet your background conditions.

There's also the housecarls from Markarth and Windhelm.

[Mobius Twist]

Speaking of companions, are there other companions out there who are as conversant as Mjoll the Lioness? Just take a look at her huge list of random comments. Not even Serana (a companion I think would have some of the greatest dev resources devoted to her for obvious reasons) matches her mighty flapping lips.

I would think that she was meant to be involved in a quest to destroy the Thieves' Guild (she's also essential to boot!), but it got dropped at some point in the dev process.

I only recently tried to take her as a companion and was very pleasantly surprised.

[veti]

Speaking of companions, are there other companions out there who are as conversant as Mjoll the Lioness? Just take a look at her huge list of random comments.

Cool, must try taking her sometime.

Interesting script inconsistency here: "When I was young, I'd journey with my father on hunting expeditions into Morrowind. The cliff racers made for excellent sport."

Surely the cliff racers only ever infested Vvaardenfell, which is generally considered un-visitable now? And anyway, St Jiub (in Dawnguard, recycled from the opening scene of Morrowind) claims to have eradicated them before the Oblivion Crisis, 200 years ago.

Pedantic trivia like that bothers me...

[Ailurus]

You might also want to look into the Interesting NPCs mod if you want companions that have a stronger relationship with the Dragonborn. Adds about 250 voiced NPCs (often fairly well voiced too) to the world, some of which just add some color and 20-30 of which can serve as followers and have their own questlines that come up too if you interact with them enough.

[Divayth Fyr]

Cool, must try taking her sometime.

Interesting script inconsistency here: "When I was young, I'd journey with my father on hunting expeditions into Morrowind. The cliff racers made for excellent sport."

Surely the cliff racers only ever infested Vvaardenfell, which is generally considered un-visitable now? And anyway, St Jiub (in Dawnguard, recycled from the opening scene of Morrowind) claims to have eradicated them before the Oblivion Crisis, 200 years ago.

Pedantic trivia like that bothers me...

Between the fact that Oblivion dialogue only mention him "driving the cliff racers out of Vvardenfell" and his general attitute in Dawnguard, I find it likely that he did not in fact eradicate all of them, but killed a decent amount and forced the rest to leave. And since Vvardenfell is a complete wasteland now, they returned not there, but to the mainland (though I'm not sure it was ever mentioned they were restricted to the island).

[NeoVid]

Arvak: Effectively indestructible, always on-call. Need help getting your loot away from a dungeon? Summon Arvak, and you can suddenly fast-travel anywhere. It's FANTASTIC.

Arvak is amazing. Tragically, I can't use him right now, since I've got a handy new Dead Thrall. Can't have a second Conjured minion until I get Twin Souls.

Though in an interesting coincidence, Dead Thralls use the same fast-travel rules as horses, and only follow you to the stables of cities you travel to. That's not annoying at all...

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Interesting script inconsistency here: "When I was young, I'd journey with my father on hunting expeditions into Morrowind. The cliff racers made for excellent sport."

Surely the cliff racers only ever infested Vvaardenfell, which is generally considered un-visitable now? And anyway, St Jiub (in Dawnguard, recycled from the opening scene of Morrowind) claims to have eradicated them before the Oblivion Crisis, 200 years ago.

Pedantic trivia like that bothers me...

They did exist outside Vvardenfell. Jiub's wiki page said specifically he drove the Cliffracers from Vvardenfell, so it's not unreasonable to assume it was ONLY Vvardenfell and they continued to exist in the rest of Morrowind.

[LibraryOgre]

So, an early play-through of Morrowind, I decided to be a male Dunmer named Jiub, simply because "Hey, I need a race and name, that works."

[Triaxx]

I always liked the Headsman in Solitude, and the merc you can pick up in the Winking Skeever. The first one wants my favorite quest PERIOD completed, and the other guy only wants 500 gold for his services, and he's pretty awesome.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Am I the only one who read Confessions of A Khajiit Fur Trader and got really, really disappointed that we never got to hunt him down?

[LibraryOgre]

Am I the only one who read Confessions of A Khajiit Fur Trader and got really, really disappointed that we never got to hunt him down?

Sounds like a mod waiting to happen. Maybe the Khajjit traders offer it up?

[Winter_Wolf]

Didn't the khajit trader Ma'dran say that Ri'saad bailed him out of some serious trouble in the past and that he feels gratitude rather resentment over working for him? I have no evidence that Ma'dran is the Fur Trader, but for some reason I always feel like he did something terrible and that he's been given a chance to live free from that burden. Pure conjecture based on the above linked Confessions and this note about a city called Corinth(e) in Elsewyr and Ma'dran mentioning how he was an orphan.